Category: Sparkle

Sparkles are my favorite color & you’re my favorite people so it’s time for a giveaway! Help me grow by liking my page, SparkleWithUC,on Facebook & tagging 3 friends who are your strongest supporters, your light in the dark. Giveaway ends 6-17-17 @ 11:59pm. The more people you tag, the more entries you get!

I have been in so many different hair “seasons” as you might call them. I was an 80’s fro-kid. This was not intentional but my mom thought it was cute & a no fuss hair style so she let it ride for years.

& years! Thanks mom!

I finally took over my hair duties around 6th grade & permed it right up as often as mom could afford it. In junior high & high school, I don’t know that my hair came out of a pony tail because I was always doing something sporty.

I will continue my hair journey for you when I introduce you to the tantalizing world of Vitamin B12: A vampires dream.

When trying to find vitamins in your food that are beneficial to your hair, you can also count on those same vitamins to be important to healthy skin and nail development. A bi-product to so many vitamins is that they benefit multiple areas of health. When you strengthen your hair, your nails and skin are sure to follow.

If you find yourself experiencing any of these symptoms, talk to your doctor. They would be more than happy to help you diagnose deficiencies.

A little info for you…your daily IU is the international unit use to measure the amount of Vitamin A. According to the Mayo Clinic, the recommended amount of Vitamin A daily is as follows:

Adult Males: 3000 IU

Adult Females: 2300 IU

Pregnant Women: 2600 IU

Lactating Women: 4300 IU

Children 1-3 years old: 1,000 IU

Children 4-8 years old: 1,300 IU

Children 9-13 years old: 2,000 IU

Children 14-18 years old: 2,500 IU

The following list includes the foods which contain a high concentration of Vitamin A and the serving size which you need to consume to reach the daily IU’s of that food. The ideal way of consuming would be all at once but look at the serving size. I love carrots but a cup is a little much sometimes so I would usually end up combining carrots and broccoli or a combination that tastes good together to get to my goal.

So, onto what you have all been anticipating!!! Food!!!! Dr. Axe is the best place that I have found that puts together a comprehensive list of foods in order from greatest IU’s to least. The best part, you get pictures to go with it. I know, you didn’t need pictures but it just makes it more fun to read.

So, its time to go shopping! If you are mom to little’s, this shopping list will contain foods that your children might eat or might throw across the room, depends on the kid. It’s hit or miss in our house most nights but, you can get an extra serving of your veggies if you have to clean up their plate. Just saying! BTW, I have excluded anything that I wouldn’t eat as well.

Shopping List:

Carrots (gigantinormous bag)

Sweet potato

Spinach (I eat atleast 1 salad a day so a big container is necessary)

Apricots

Broccoli

Butter, butter and more butter (My tribute to Paula Deen)

Eggs (Note to self, buy chickens someday to save on eggs)

Red Peppers

Cantaloupe

Parsley (grow your own, I did)

Asparagus

Tomatoes

Basil (grow your own)

I’m going to throw you for a loop or maybe you already knew this, smarty pants. Any type of animal product through this Healthy Hair series is best from grass fed animals. Why you ask? Grass fed means that the animal was natural, vitamin rich food sources so that they in turn could produce vitamin nutrient products for you.

I feel like a good rule of thumb on shopping in the veggie/fruit section is to get one of everything and try it. If you don’t like it, atleast you know now that you need to find another food combination to buy to get to your vitamin expectation. My husband knows that I spend a majority of my shopping time and our money in the fresh fruits and veggie section. He calls me a hippy but I truly believe that your health is affected by everything you put in your mouth.

Oh, another tip. If you buy a veggie or fruit over and over again and it goes bad over and over again before you get to eat it, don’t waste your money on it. Choose something else in its place so that its economical and healthy for you.

Happy vitamin A consuming and don’t forget to check back for my next installment on the Healthy Hair journey with Healthy Hair: Vitamin B6 & B12.

Sweet summa-time! We love summer around this joint! Pretty weather, lots of time in the swimming pool & no where to be!!!!!

So, my backyard doesn’t quite look this but a girl can dream!

Anywho, what brings me to you today is a need for popsicles. I really just need to sneak healthy in in anyway that I can so I thought why not make a nutritious popsicle for my little guys.

Another requirement was that it had to be simple so that they could help me make their treats. We chose to make apple-strawberry popsicles because Luke likes apples & Jaxson loves cutting the tops off strawberries. Definitely solid reasoning for our flavors.

I know, this is just a plain ‘ole apple. Choose whatever flavor apple you enjoy most, but the sweeter the better. You will notice a remote control monster truck in the background. That’s where baby man was sitting while he helped.

Now that looks like a few apples but you only need one per ice tray, I just sliced it crazy.

Some people might want to leave the strawberry stems & leaves for whatever reason they may have but it will give you a bitter taste so I recommend cutting the tops off of 5 strawberries. No extra chopping necessary because your Nutribullet will do the rest.

Just to let you know, affiliate links are contained in this post and if you order through the links, we receive a small percentage of your purchase at zero extra cost to you.

My absolute favorite mixing tool EVER is my NutriBullet RX! If you don’t have one, get one……..Now!!!!! (I have not been paid by Nutribullet to say that, but if you want to order one, click on the link below.) Seriously, I don’t think my life would be the same without it! In fact, Nutriblasts (Nutribullet smoothies) got me healthy enough to have baby #2 in 2014.

Add 1 1/2 cups of water to blend. This makes the juice semi-thick so that it freezes well. It’s not so thin it’s a juice & not so thick you have chunks. If you want fruit chunks, prepare additional strawberries to place in the ice tray before pouring. Slice the strawberries very thin so you still get a good amount of juice within each pop.

This is like staring into the abyss, the apple-strawberry, healthy, popsicle abyss! By the way, I can’t mention these are healthy to my kids because it will automatically look like liver to them so they are just non-specific popsicles. ?

Nothing needed to prepare your ice tray. Just pour your deliciousness into the cube compartments without making a complete mess! Ok, so I may have made a big mess but it was within the ice tray so no party foul!

On that note, I have included a pic of the best way for adults to use these popsicles so read to the bottom.

The final piece to preparation is to place Saran Wrap tightly over the top of the ice cube tray & poke toothpicks into each cube for a holder. Put your tray in the freezer & go play.

After we went to the park, road bikes & had pizza, it was time! J-Ray, my oldest, was beyond impressed with our handiwork. That’s a thumbs up & a wink. He’s multitalented like his mother who is also very humble!

Luke might have fallen asleep with so much anticipation, or maybe he didn’t have a nap!

This thumbs up is for what I knew would be a glorious beverage with apple-strawberry ice cubes after the kiddos are in bed.

The absolute best part about these Popsicles is that they are all natural. Ok, maybe there’s several “best parts”.

The kids can help & they were pretty impressed at their product.

Also, they were super easy to make with a 5 minute prep time & 5 minutes from blending to freezer. The hardest part about it was waiting to try them!

So I promised that picture!

I have a giant obsession with sangria right now & I typically add fruit juice & fruit slices to my wine but these little Popsicles double as the fruit & juice. Yay!

I wait about the length of 3 Super Mario games & the cubes have melted enough to get fruity taste.

Disclaimer: I am not responsible if you poke yourself in the nose while drinking.

Chances are, if your reading this, you know I started this blog as a place to talk about my journey with ulcerative colitis & other autoimmune diseases. I try to go along my journey with grace & humor, hence my name SparkleWithUC. There are, however, days that make you reflect on your journey & revisit the good, the bad & the downright ugly times that brought you to today.

This is me & Mr. Wonderful a few months before life changed for what I hope is a very limited amount of time. I hold out a unicorn believers type hope that there will be a complete cure & not just a bandaid for ulcerative colitis while I’m still alive, not that I have plans to go anywhere until I’m atleast 105.

This was Christmas 2011. No hint of disease….yet. 155lbs

Less than 6 months later, May 2012. I have been treated for hpylori with 2 massive doses of antibiotics & have been diagnosed with severe ulcerative colitis. 108lbs

I had to cut my hair because it was so thin & unhealthy. I would do this several times throughout the last 5 years just trying to look a little healthier than I actually was.

Prednisone puffy! The chipmunk cheeks became a cycle. I would complete a round of prednisone & flagyl with mild success. About the time the chubbo cheeks would disappear, I would be in another flair & need more prednisone.

More prednisone puff in 2013. I acted a lot like the bear snoozing between our heads in this picture. I was moody & no one dared wake me up without fear of “poking the bear”. I was in denial that there was a better treatment out there & would not ask my dr for help.

Fast forward through ups & downs & flairs & calm to 2015. Around the time of Cool Hand Luke’s 1st birthday, I was in such a bad flair that Chad pretty much dragged me to the dr. Thank God he did because I started on Entivyo 2 months later. Miracles do happen!

I look healthier & have energy! My hair is growing & I can see the division between new hair & the old stuff. My kids get more mommy time! There’s just too many positive changes to note them all!

I look like my 1st picture, except older, I mean, more distinguished. I know we grow older & we change but it’s so fabulous to change & age with time instead of prematurely because of illness & stress.

There’s always lessons to be learned from the experiences God allows us to get through or pushes us through. I want to encourage you to deal with whatever “it” is because it’s not going away. If you are facing health decisions that need to be made, don’t sit back & let dr’s dictate your future. I cruised along with my head in the sand for several years thinking that I had to do what the dr said or my earth would shake & life would be over. I felt that I was the best I was going to be despite what I showed you in the pictures above, I was obviously not healthy. I had a few people around me who could see through the front I put up. They pulled me out of my comfort zone, to ask for better treatment & I am forever greatful for showing me patience & grace.

My seester!

My sister is one of those pushers. She has crohn’s disease & has had major surgery losing close to a foot of intestines. Who better for God to knock me upside the head with but my lifetime confidant & best friend. He knew I wouldn’t listen to someone who hadn’t been through the ringer herself.

By the way, did you know that God didn’t care for my opinion on the matter & he stacked the odds in my favor despite my stubbornness, as evidenced by my continued breathing. I want to always think that I have the control at my fingertips because I am a control freak, ask Mr. Wonderful, but there are times that I reflect on my journey & realize I was never in control & he has given me plenty of life’s lessons to prove it.

So, on this, my 5th anniversary, I am oh so thankful for more than I deserve in the blessings department. One such blessing is that I have learned more about natural health in 5 years than I learned the first 29 years of my life.

Also, my hair is growing back. Note to self (& you), never take hair for granted again!!!
Oh, & despite my 1st dr telling me that we should just take my colon out at age 29 with only 2 short months of unsuccessful treatment, I have every last inch of my intestines because I’m stubborn & fought to keep them.

So to you, the fighter, keep fighting & in the words of Dory, “just keep swimming.” You can do it!!!

I know, that you know, that I know you can eat your way to healthy. That’s fabulous news for those people with health problems. This post by no means takes the place of medical advice but does show that a little research and planning can be your best line of defense when faced with health adversity.

I know we are all busy and the easy way to eat is by consuming those go to foods that are fast or comforting to get us through the day. If you’re like me, it depends on my mood, what’s going on that day, if we’re in school, and blah, blah, blah but in the back of my mind, that little glitter dipped conscious always gets me. She asks, “is that healthy for you and does it get you to your goal of great health?” That little lady has a point & I need to try harder to find the foods that work for me & not against me.

Researching the foods you eat or the foods you need to eat to achieve a fix to a health problem is fairly simple, but who has time for that? I mean, my 2 year old needs someone to hold him and my 7 year old is learning to do summer chores which means I follow behind him to “tweak” his work so who really has the time to scour Google for the right foods?

Welcome to my series on healthy hair, skin and nail foods. I’ve done the work for you and if there’s more you want, comment with your topic suggestions. I have a few other health issues already in mind for future topics but I would love to help my readers out with their problems so comment below or shoot me an email at sparklewithuc@yahoo.com. I have also created a Facebook fan page to keep you in my world & up to date so follow SparklewithUC on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.

Sooooo, back to my particular interest which today is hair. Some like it short, some like it long but the common recurrent theme is that we all want it there, except those who shave their heads, obviously they don’t want it but that’s a whole different story altogether.

For so many years before getting sick, I took prenatal vitamins; before pregnancy, during pregnancy and for quite a while after pregnancy. I had dr’s tell me and read so much stating that prenatal vitamins are the best avenue for healthy, thick hair. Before my sick days started 5 years ago, I whole heartedly believed every bit of the vitamin hoopla and religiously took my vitamins every evening with supper (because they made me nauseous).

Fast forward 5 years to 2017. my body does not absorb vitamins like it should, especially when in a severe ulcerative colitis flair. Basically, my body is in flush mode when I’m flaring and vitamin capsules or tablets don’t have adequate time to absorb before they’re flushed by my system. For this reason, it is best to eat my vitamins through solid food choices.
I must also mention that I would totally be ok with a handful of pills if I was, say, 90ish, give or take 10 yrs but I’m not so I’m trying to narrow down my handful of morning meds by replacing vitamins with foods heavy in those vitamins.

When you search ‘foods for healthy hair’, so many fabulous articles pop up. Here’s a few for your reading pleasure:

The problem isn’t that there is not enough information out there to support natural food sources to grow healthy hair but who has the time to read and read and read to figure it all out?!?!?!

Search no further! I’ve got your back! I have included in this article the vitamins that I will be discussing throughout the next series on naturally healthy hair. Now, this isn’t a fast fix for super long, super thick hair so don’t be fooled by internet claims that this is even possible. The only way to grow super long, super thick hair is to eat foods that contribute to healthy hair growth and have patience.

There are 8 vitamins that provide necessary nourishment to grow healthy hair. You get an added bonus when finding food sources that are high in the 8 vitamins and are also vitamins that have a plethora of benefits beyond your hair! #winning

Those 8 necessary vitamins are (in no specific order to their importance):

In this series I will discuss the importance of each vitamin and how it contributes to healthy hair. I won’t stop there though! You need to know what foods are high in that vitamin as well as a shopping list to stay on track.

After looking at a few recent pictures, I have discovered some disturbing news. I’m getting older and I didn’t even notice! No, just kidding, my knees have noticed!

I have actually discovered that I have Wreck It Ralph arms which is convenient since the boys favorite movie is about “old ham hands himself”! If I have confused you, get in touch with your inner child and watch Wreck It Ralph.

AHHHHHHHHHHHH! How can this be? I never thought in a bagillion years that putting back on the weight I lost while I was sick would look like this!

See the resemblance? Bwahahahahaha!

So what, you ask, do I propose to do about this arm issue?

Well, summer is coming so I’ll have extra time around the house to get active. I have already started trying to walk 3 times a week. I enjoy walking the boys to the park which is 1/3 of a mile directly to the park. To add some mileage, or steps, we take a few blocks out of the way, despite the grumbles of my crew, and it totals approximately a mile roundtrip. Calories burned, yay!

So back to the arm issue. I like taking pictures with my precious family but I will be hiding those Wreck It Ralph arms until they are toned. It’s strange, when your rail skinny you don’t have to worry about anything except how bony you look but when you put the weight back on, you have a different set of worries.You have to worry about exactly which part of the body the needed weight decided to pack onto and it inevitably won’t be where you really needed it like, your back or your wrists.

Welcome to your new challenge! Give it your best shot and if you miss a day, pick right up where you left off. The best exercise routines are full of trial and terror, I mean error. Workouts don’t have to be your enemy so strap up your laces and bring your sparkle back.

After 3 weeks of waiting on my insurance company to complete some stupid new pre-authorization for a medicine that I have been on for a year & a half (grrrrrrr), my infusion day has arrived!

I know there’s red tape everywhere but why does insurance have to cause delays that affect my gut? Shouldn’t they be proactive about new preauthorizations instead of reactive, especially when they changed the paperwork & not my doctor? Just my thoughts as I sit here hoping that my daily fevers will go away & that Entivyo works it’s usual magic in my gut.

As I sit here in Texas Oncology listening to the conversations going on around me I have decided that I am selfish.
I hear one little boy is asking his grandpa for cartoons on tv instead of the morning news.
An older lady is telling her adult daughter, who’s leg is bouncing up & down with nervousness, that it’s just one stick & then it will be ok.
The couple behind me is talking about what the next step is because the chemo treatments may not be working.
I feel down right selfish right now. I was so upset that my infusion was 3 weeks late which, in the world of bilogic medicine, means that my body can begin to produce antibodies to the medicine & it may stop working. I feel selfish because there are so many people that I see in this room who are just hanging onto life, hoping that their chemo will keep them alive to see another day.
Sometimes, somedays God gives us small reminders that there’s more to life than anything we’ve got going on. Then some days he gives us emotional, heartbreaking pushes to change our hearts & minds. Today was a heartbreaking reminder to care about others & stop thinking of myself.
My gut vs someone’s life are by no means an equal comparison so I prayed for a cure for cancer (long shot, I know, but God is a big and mighty God) & that all those in the room would feel God’s peace wherever they’re at in their fight for life.

I still don’t like the needles & getting stuck several times for one successful IV is not my idea of a good time but Entivyo has been the miracle my colon so desperately needed. In June I will hit the 5 year mark since my diagnosis. Remembering the first three & a half years of prednisone driven life with several unsuccessful medications makes me beyond thankful for the last year & a half of Entivyo bliss!

Some days your the inspiration & some days, you’re the inspired! Either way, you can change the world!

When I am working my way through a Fitbit challenge in Yosimete or NYC, I love to pick up & screenshot all the diamonds along the way. If you don’t have a clue what the crazy sparkle lady is talking about, you have to get a Fitbit……today! They’re awesome!!!!!

Fun inner thigh workout, more affectionately known as a squat, sounds like you also might enjoy a root canal without numbing meds! I mean, who actually likes the feeling (or lack of feeling) after you’ve done enough squats to feel like your legs might truly be done working for, well, EVER.

I am just not a pain hungry person so when I get all wobbly from squats and then I eventually have to stand up again sometime to feed tiny humans or give baths, I regret my decision to try to “reduce those thunder thighs”. Ugh, squatting down to give baths is when you discover how young you are not and how all those squats you used to do in high school didn’t get you in shape for old age at 34.

I know last months target area was getting rid of flabby thighs so it’s time to move on but I was introduced to a new, fun way, to do those horrible, torturous, thigh melting squats that we all love to hate!

Moby’s song Flower (aka, Bring Sally up) reminds me of Gone in 60 Seconds, the first DVD I bought after I won a DVD player my senior year. I love the beat of that song but never would have used it to workout. Someone genius took it & made a squat challenge out of it.

On The Running Bug, you will find all the instruction & even a instructional video to help get the squat challenge started off right.

Below is the Week 1 schedule:

Saturday & Sunday are rest days as well as Wednesday.

Word to the wise, don’t try to squat the whole song on the first day. You might walk away with jello-ey legs & the desire to not ever do it again!

Do t you ever forget, working out doesn’t have to be boring to work. Find something you enjoy & get it done!

Don’t be a skeptic!
Try something new whether you found it on Pinterest or this crazy sparklewithuc lady told you about it!

I have a very hard time sticking with one workout because I’m always finding something else that I want to try.
I know you have a DVR & your absolute favorite shows are recorded, possibly the entire season of them. My go-to’s are The Pioneer Woman, Trisha’s Southern Kitchen, The Kitchen or Big Bang Theory. Ok, stop judging my shows. I can’t lie, I ❤ food!!!!
Speaking of food, if you are anything like me, and most people are, you would lose weight if you could just burn the calories that come from the non-fruit, non-vegetable & non-lean meats that you consume daily. Easy? Not so much!
So this workout is brought to you by the crazy about Food Network sparkly momma for those who want to burn some worthless calories today.
Click on your tv & find that perfect episode of The Pioneer Woman (or your show). Whatever cardio you choose, you will do while the show is on. During the commercial breaks, you will do abs, arms & legs.
A workout breakdown would look like this:
5 mins of elliptical work
5ish mins of abs (crunches, side planks, sit ups, heel touches, leg raises, etc).
Your show is back on so 5 mins of elliptical work (add resistance, go backwards, sprint & steady pace alternating).
Commercial break so 5 mins of arms (tricep curls, bench press, bicep curls, side raises, front raises, etc). I have 3.5lb weights. You think 3.5lbs won’t do anything. It will & you’ll want more!
What will probably be the last chunk of your show is back on. For 5 more mins, keep a steady (not slow but not sprint) pace on the elliptical which will put your heart rate at a steady fat burn heart rate.
Commercial break 3 is spent working on your legs (squats, burpees, mountain climbers, sumo squats, wall sits, calf raises, etc).
I like the word, etcetera today!
Continue alternating reps as long as your show is on.
For a crazy big workout plan, choose an hour long episode of your fave show. That workout plan would look much the same but a lot longer. You would repeat the cardio, strength reps until your show is over.
Who knew tv could give you such a fabulous workout!

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About Me…

I’m so glad you found me! I am a busy wife and mother to two adorable but high energy boys who is a history teacher and coach. Follow my story as I navigate my busy world overcoming the obstacles of ulcerative colitis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Welcome to my world! Feel free to look around and don’t forget to join my email list for updates.